The Legend of Zelda: A Dark Twist
by chasetheshadow
Summary: A modern twist on the old Legend of Zelda story: Link must uncover a plot to take over Hyrule by the nefarious G.A.N.O.N  Grand Alliance of New Order Nations  . Old friends and enemies come forward in different reincarnations.
1. Part I

Part I

A loud pounding came from the opposite side of a heavy oak door and a young man pushed it open, walking into a well-lit office. He had on a sleeveless black shirt that showed tattoos running up and down his arms; battle scenes and swords were inked in great detail. His long, blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he carried an old leather jacket in his hands and a pistol on his hip.

"Why don't you use a telephone like every other person in this kingdom?" he growled, walking up to a desk in the center of the room.

Sitting behind it, an attractive woman scribbled away on a piece of paper, ignoring him. Her flaxen hair was pulled back in a bun on top of her head, showing a Triforce tattoo on her neck. She put down her pen and stood up, looking up at him.

"Because then nothing would separate me from everybody else in this palace," she said, giving him a small smile, "Hi Link."

He glowered at her.

"Telepathy isn't my favorite form of communication."

She walked around to his side of the desk with an envelope in her hands, her black heels clicking on the tile floor. She handed it to him and folded her arms.

"As Head Agent of the Royal Investigative Force, you've been awarded 'Hero of the Year' again," she said, leaning up against her desk.

"Zelda, no…" Link groaned, opening the envelope and seeing gold script across the top.

"Don't start," she scolded, quickly putting an end to any whining, "The ceremony's tomorrow. Get your hair trimmed, and for Goddesses sake, don't wear that old leather jacket. Try to look like a respected agent, not a civilian."

"That's what makes me good at my job."

"And that's why you're being awarded," she retorted.

He rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut.

"And please," Zelda said, "Be on time."

He sighed, took one more disgusted look at the paper, and said, "Of course, your Majesty."

She shot him a glare and then walked back around to the other side of the desk.

"I have a meeting with the Council, so you have the morning off," she said, pulling papers and folders into her arms, "But in case I need to reach you, stay close by."

Link headed towards the doors, and said, "I've got some intel to gather. But first I'm going to pick up Epona."

"Why do you still drive that hunk of junk?" Zelda asked, following after him.

"Because," he said, holding the door open for her, "then nothing would separate me from everyone else in this palace."

She smiled humorlessly at him and shuffled down the hallway.

* * *

Heavy metal blasted throughout the garage as Link walked in. He waved quickly to the guy behind the desk and walked back to a pair of legs jutting out from underneath an old junker. He tapped on the top of the hood.

"What?" came an irritated voice from beneath.

He leaned over and said, "I'm here to pick up my bike", then grabbed one of the legs and pulled.

A young woman rolled out from underneath. She wore a torn black Indigo-go's t-shirt and her ears were pierced all the way up into the cartilage. Her jeans and boots were covered in oil, and a black bandana kept her auburn hair back out of her face. The irritated snarl on her face quickly turned to a wide smile as she saw who it was.

"Help me up?" she asked, holding her arm up to him.

"Hey Malon," he said, grabbing her and pulling her up.

She wiped her hands on her already filthy jeans and walked over to a tarp near the corner of the garage. Link hit the stereo on their way over, and the screaming of the band singer abruptly stopped.

"Hey!"

He shrugged and grabbed the tarp, pulling it off. Underneath of it sat an shiny, restored motorcycle with black chrome and leather. Along the gas tank, "Epona 5500" was etched into it in silver lettering.

"Your breaks are now fixed," Malon said, running her hand along the leather seat, "Maybe if you didn't wear them down so hard, they wouldn't need replacing every month."

"You try going from a high rated speed to zero in a few seconds and see if you can do it without ruining the breaks," he said, flashing her a small smile.

"I'll put the bill on Zelda's tab."

"You're the best," he said, pushing the bike out of the garage.

Link walked outside into the lot where all of the other cars were being held. As he threw his leg over the bike, Malon, who had stopped by the garage door, said, "You can repay me with a ride sometime." She winked at him and turned back into the garage. He kick started the bike and flew out of the lot and onto the road.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that we need to consider all of our options."

A man stood speaking in front of a small group of men and women that sat around a large, round table; one seat sat empty.

"Onox, don't you think we should wait for Princess Zelda to join us?" one of the women said. She had two streaks of blue in her pitch black hair and had round, sea green eyes.

The doors on the side of the room slammed open and Zelda stormed in.

"I believe Rutora is correct. You should have waited for me to begin," she said, walking over in front of the man. "Onox, do I need to remind you that you are not part of this Council and that I can remove you from your position faster than you can blink?"

Although she was shorter than him by several inches, he still shrunk back from her as she drew nearer.

"My apologies, Princess," he trembled, "I was merely sharing my views with the Council."

"Well don't. Just because my father keeps you around doesn't mean I care for what you think," she hissed, then ordered, "Get out."

He bowed awkwardly, and with a growl, he left the room. Zelda waved her hand, closing the doors behind him.

"What was that idiot going on about?" she asked, sitting down in the empty seat.

A bigger man stood up from the table and said, "News has reached us that Termina has surrendered."

Zelda's head dropped into her hands, and a sigh escaped from her lips.

"He suggested we do the same."

Her head shot up quickly. A ball of magic materialized in her hand, whipping wildly like an out of control fire.

The man snapped his fingers and the ball disappeared in a flash of light.

"Thank you, Raurun. You know how I get when I'm angry," she said, breathing in deeply. After a moment of silence, she stood up.

"What do you all think?" Zelda asked.

The room sat silent; the only noise was the squeaking of chairs as some of the Council shifted in their seats.

One of the women stood up. She had long red hair and wore a gold ring in her nose.

"I say that we forget that Onox ever spoke of surrendering. He's a slime, and should never have been allowed in this room," she said, putting her hand on the knife that was strapped to her belt.

Zelda's lips twitched into a smile.

"As always, your input is appreciated, Naboora," she said, nodding her head to the woman.

The other four stood up. A tall, muscular woman with short, silver spiked hair stood closest to Zelda and put her hand on her shoulder.

"I think we all agree with Naboora," she said.

Zelda looked around the table; everyone was nodding their heads.

"Thank you, Impah. Now that we have that settled, we can get back to business," she said, and they all took their seats.

"What's the news from the front line?" Zelda asked, turning to a large, muscular man wearing a red jacket.

"We're holding back G.A.N.O.N's forces, but just barely," he said. "It would help if we had some help from the Kokiri tribe."

The young woman sitting next to him let out an exasperated sigh.

"Darun, we're busy on our own borders. The Grand Alliance of New Order Nations has too many troops near our forest. I can't afford to spread my lines too thin."

"Sa'Ria, you're the only one who can spare any troops. Everyone else is tied up," he said, his voice starting to rise.

Zelda stuck her hand up in the air to silence them.

"Rutora, can you spare some of your troops?" she asked.

She nodded her head, saying, "My navy's holding them back for now. We'll send some soldiers over right away."

"Thank you," Zelda said. "You've all been doing a wonderful job. Keep this up and G.A.N.O.N will be forced to back off."

* * *

Link sat at the bar alone, impatiently tapping his fingers against the table. He had been sitting there for almost an hour, waiting for his informant to show up.

"Need another drink?" the bartender asked, taking the empty bottle from in front of him.

"Give me a minute," he answered, running his fingers nervously through his hair.

The bell above the door rang and he turned around quickly. A tall young woman stood in the doorway; she wore a jean skirt and knee-high high-heeled boots. Flicking her hair to the side, she walked over to Link and sat down beside him.

"Hey, Hero," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Navi," he growled, signaling the bartender.

The bartender placed another bottle in front of Link and turned to Navi.

"I'll take a Princess Peach, hold the ice," she ordered.

"Princess Peach?" Link asked, taking a long swig of his drink.

"Some princess over in another kingdom. Apparently getting saved by a plumber means you get a drink names after ya," she said, popping her gum. "Don't you listen to gossip?"

He snorted.

"No, that's why I come to you."

The bartender brought over a glass filled to the brim with pink liquid. As soon as he left, Navi leaned in closer to Link.

"Hey, Listen," she said, beckoning him with her finger. "I've got some dirt concerning your girl, Zelda."

He leaned forward inconspicuously, keeping his eyes to the rest of the bar, making sure nobody was listening.

"Word on the street is that someone's paying top rupee for her to be black-bagged. She's on everyone's hit list," she whispered, leaning back to take a sip of her drink.

"That's hardly news, Navi. She's the princess of Hyrule; a lot of people want her dead."

She rolled her eyes. "Apparently, it's someone on the inside."

Link raised his eyebrows. "_This could be big_," he thought.

He threw a few rupees on the bar top and stood up.

"Thanks, Nav," he said, turning towards the door.

"How 'bout you thank me by letting me be your date for your big ceremony?" she said, grabbing his arm and spinning him around.

"How do you…?" he began.

"Everyone's talking about it, honey. And I heard you need a date," she said, squeezing his arm flirtatiously.

"Not gonna happen," he said, pulling himself out of her grasp and walking out the door.


	2. Part II

Part II

"Link, you know as well as I do that I get death threats every day," Zelda said, looking intently at different material swatches.

"But this could be an actual lead," he said, leaning on the table in front of her.

She held up a swatch of cream colored material. "What do you think about this for the ballroom for the ceremony?"

He looked at her incredulously.

"You're right; I think we need something a bit more colorful."

"Damn it, Zelda," he growled, "Why aren't you taking this seriously?"

She looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "Why should I? You're source is an annoying, overly flirtatious bimbo who had too much to drink."

Zelda turned away, picking up another swatch. Having known Link since they were children, she was used to his overly-protective side; sometimes his gut feelings kept her alive. She sighed and said, "Get me some hard evidence, and then I'll take you more seriously."

"Thank you," he said, turning to leave. He stopped by the door and turned to ask, "Do you have your pistol on you?"

"Always," she said, pulling her shirt to the side to reveal a revolver in a holster.

"That's my girl."

Link closed the door quietly behind him, leaving Zelda to herself.

Focusing on the material in front of her, she didn't notice the sound of quiet footsteps approach her from behind. She froze as she felt cold metal against the back of her neck and a small click of a gun loading.

"I thought he'd never leave."

* * *

Link pulled into the bar parking lot and sat idling for a few minutes. He watched as the door opened and Navi stumbled out. Laughing as she walked down the steps, she gave Link a wide grin and yelled, "You came back for me?"

Sensing her about to fall, Link pushed the kickstand down and ran to her side.

"Nav, I need more information," he said, supporting her entire weight against his body, "What else have you heard about Zelda?"

"Nothing really," she stuttered, her head bobbing lazily as they walked.

"Goddesses, Navi, I only left you two hours ago. You're completely smashed."

She smiled again. "A lot can happen in two hours."

He helped her sit in her car and took her keys from her hands.

"You're not driving right now. You're too intoxicated."

"I won't get caught," she murmured, swaying in her seat.

"Navi, I'm an officer. I have to arrest you if I see it. Besides, you're about to pass out," Link said, and as he finished, her body slumped over onto the passengers seat, unconscious.

Tossing her keys on her lap and locking the door, he shut it and began walking towards Epona.

"_Well, that was a dead end_," he thought, throwing his leg over the seat.

About to start his bike, he paused as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He flipped it open and asked, "Yeah?"

"There's been a situation," came the voice on the other line.

"What happened?" Link asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"Princess Zelda's gone missing."

Link cursed under his breath. "I just left her fifteen minutes ago! What the hell happened?"

"We're not sure. The camera didn't show her leaving."

"I'll be there in five minutes," Link said, hanging up and kicking Epona to life. He sped down the road back towards the castle.

* * *

"Can someone tell me how this could've happened?" Link yelled, pushing the doors to Zelda's study open and rushing in. A group of his agents already stood in the room, scouring camera footage for any sign of her. One of them stood quickly and walked over to him.

"We're doing our best," he muttered nervously. "It would help though, if we could look through her files."

"Some of those are classified and need top clearance. I'll go through them myself," he said. "Have you been able to get a hold of her in any way?"

"Phone is off, and Impah has been trying to reach her telepathically. So far there's no word."

Link sighed and said, "Alright, everybody get out for a few minutes."

"Sir?"

"Leave!" he shouted, pointing towards the door.

The group of agents jumped and hurried out the door. After closing the door behind them, Link walked over to Zelda's desk. After he was appointed Head Agent, Link and Zelda decided to install a secret camera in her study in case of a situation much like this one. They were the only two that knew about it.

He pressed a small button on the side of the desk, popping out a small panel of wood. From around his neck, he pulled a small key on a chain and pushed it into a small hole in the desk. A screen appeared from the hole in the desk. Pressing a few buttons, he rewound the footage from a half hour ago. He watched as the screen showed him crossing towards the door and leaving, Zelda sitting at her desk. After a moment, a shadow walked up behind her.

"Got ya," he said, leaning closer to the screen.

Link zoomed in the picture, enhancing it. Slowly, the picture began to clear, and a face began to sharpen. Recognizing the face, he slammed his fist into the desk.

"Damn it!" he screamed.

The door flew open and the agent stuck his head in.

"Sir?" he asked.

"Find him!" he yelled, pointing to the screen. He stood up quickly and rushed out the door. "And call a Council meeting!"


	3. Part III

_Thanks to all who critiqued and commented. This was originally with Part II, however, I decided to break it up so it would't be so long. Enjoy!_

* * *

Part III

As Link walked into the Council Room, he noticed that two chairs sat empty; Zelda's and Rutora's.

"Where's Rutora?" he asked.

An awkward silence fell over the room. He looked over at Sa'Ria; having been friends since the very beginning, he knew she would tell him. She looked at her hands folded on the table.

"When she heard you called the meeting, she decided not to come," she muttered quietly.

"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief.

The others in the room nodded, and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll be right back," he said, pushing the door open and pulling out his phone. He quickly dialed her phone number and waited. After several rings, Rutora's voice came over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Rutora, warp your ass over here now!" he grumbled.

"Oh. Hello, Link."

"Why aren't you here? What could possibly make you miss a Council meeting?"

Nothing but angry silence came over the phone. After a moment, a thought suddenly hit him.

"Are seriously still mad at me?"

"Of course I'm still mad at you!" she screeched over the phone.

He let out a growl. "We went on two dates. We were never engaged!"

"You got down on one knee and had a ring!" she cried.

"The hoop fell out of my ear and I knelt down to pick it up," Link explained, his hand curling into a fast in anger. "Get over it!"

No reply came from the other line. He breathed in deeply and said, "This isn't about us. It's about Zelda. She's gone missing."

After a moment of silence, she said, "I'll be there in a minute," then a click of her hanging up.

Link pushed his phone back into his pocket and walked back inside the Council Room. Judging by the looks on the Council's faces, they had heard his side of the argument. As he passed by, Sa'Ria, grinning ear to ear, put her hand out for a high-five. He slapped it quietly and pulled up an extra chair beside her.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Rutora quietly slipped in and went to her seat. Avoiding eye contact with her, Link stood up.

"As some of you may have heard, Princess Zelda has gone missing," he announced. A low murmur filled the room, and he held up his hand. "We know who took her but we don't know where he took her or why."

"Who took over beloved Princess?" Darun asked sadly. For being such an intimidating man, he had a surprising soft side.

"Onox."

Loud shouting erupted in the room. Everyone was standing, pointing fingers at each other. The only person who sat silently was Impah.

"Hey!" Link shouted. "Shut up and sit down!"

Stunned, the Council members silenced their shouting and slowly sat down. Link looked around at them, anger sparking in his eyes.

"While you're all too busy blaming each other, Onox is getting further away with Zelda. You're giving him exactly what he wants!" he yelled. The Council members looked around guiltily, muttering apologies to the members next to them.

Impah stood up to address them. "If it's anybody's fault, it's mine. Her protection detail is my responsibility, and I will take the blame."

"We're not here to place blame," Link said, "We're here because we need to find her."

"What would you have us do?" Naboora asked.

Link sighed. "All the men I can spare are already out looking for her. It would help if each of you contributed some scouts. And if you can put of some patrols on every single road, it would help."

"Every road?" Rutora scoffed.

He glared at her. "Yes, every road. Onox won't take a main road; he's not smart, but he's not that dumb."

She looked angry, but she sat in compliant silence.

"Alright," Impah said, "The sooner we get out there, the sooner we'll have her back."

The rest of the Council stood up and one by one, they trickled out of the room. Impah stayed in the room, waiting for everyone else to leave. Link turned to her and sighed.

"I'm supposed to protect her too," he said understandingly. "It's not your fault."

She said nothing, but walked out of the room.


	4. Part IV

Part IV

Zelda cracked open her eyes; she saw that she was lying on a couch. Looking around, she saw tall bookshelves and lamps along the walls. Directly across from her, a shadowed figure sat in a wing-backed chair, a cigar burning lazily in his hand.

"She's awake."

Zelda heard a door open and a low shuffling coming towards her. She tried to sit up, but she couldn't; her body sat motionless, as if she were paralyzed.

"Vecuronium bromide is a very useful drug. Especially when trying to keep a certain Princess from fighting back," came a voice from behind her. She couldn't turn to look, but she didn't have to; a tall woman soon walked into view, with long orange hair, stunning gold eyes, and wearing a short purple cocktail dress. "Unfortunately, it only keeps your lips shut for a little while. So we'll talk fast."

The man in the chair flicked his cigar, sending ashes to the floor.

"Listen up, Princess," he said, his face still in shadow, "You're going to publicly announce your official surrender to the Grand Alliance of New Order Nations. You'll keep your throne, your power, your castle, but you'll answer directly to me."

Zelda did the only thing she could do; she rolled her eyes. The woman standing beside her smiled wickedly. She walked around to the man in the chair, plucked the cigar from his hand, and sat down on the couch next to Zelda. Slowly, she lowered the cigar onto Zelda's arm, burning her bare skin. A tear fell from the corner of Zelda's eye as the pain increased the further she pushed down. The woman leaned over and brushed the tear away.

"It can end now, Princess," the man in the chair said. The longer he spoke, the more familiar he sounded to Zelda. The cigar was lifted from her skin and, realizing she could begin to move her lips, she breathed out heavily through them.

"Why would you keep me on the throne?" she murmured. Her lips were still numb, so her words came out slurred.

The woman sitting beside her raised her eyebrows, surprised that she could talk already.

"It's wearing off quickly."

Zelda, taking notice at her surprise, tried to wiggle her toes; she couldn't feel if she was moving them or not.

The man in the chair leaned forward out of the shadows and Zelda gasped.

"Onox," she growled, "I should've known you were behind this. Who's your friend here with the cigar?"

The woman chuckled.

"It's General Onox, actually," she hissed, standing up and walking around Onox's chair. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"This is Veran," he said affectionately. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

Disgusted, Zelda turned away and began moving her fingertips inconspicuously. Breathing deeply, she surged magic through her body; she found that she could twitch most of her muscles, and she was hoping that within a few seconds, she would be in complete control of her body. In fact, she was banking on it. She looked around her at the tables nearby, looking for something that could be used as a weapon; Veran began walking back over to her, snapping her attention back.

"What do you say, Princess?" she asked, her heels clicking along the wood floors as she came back over to stand near her.

"No deal," Zelda said. She quickly lashed out and punched Veran in the knee. Jumping up, she kicked the falling Veran in the face and grabbed an ashtray from the table. It flew from her hand and hit Onox square in the nose. She tried running away, but her muscles were still to numb, and she ended up falling to the ground. Zelda tried to crawl away, but her body seized and she couldn't move.

"Looks like we'll have to do things the hard way," Veran said from behind her. Zelda heard a crashing noise and suddenly, her head felt as if it were exploding. She screamed out and her vision went dark.

* * *

Onox looked over at Veran's body, sprawled across the floor. Holding his nose, he stumbled over to Zelda and helped her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concern filling his voice.

Zelda looked up at him; suddenly, her crystal blue eyes faded and became a brilliant gold color.

"I'm fine darling," she said, scanning over Onox's face. "Let me heal that for you." She waved her hand over his face and a small snapping noise erupted. The pained expression dropped from his face, and he leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips.

"Thank you, Veran."

* * *

Link sat at the bar, a half empty handle of alcohol in his hand. Dark bags hung under his eyes, and his long, blonde hair was disheveled and pulled back in a sloppy pony tail. After running around following dead-end leads for more than thirty-six hours straight, Impah had insisted that he go home and get some sleep. Instead, he rode Epona over to the bar and tried to find the solution in the bottom of a bottle of Lon Lon Whiskey.

He had been there for no more than an hour when he noticed a man at the other end of the bar staring at him. As Link turned his head to the side to look at him, he looked away, pretending to be absorbed with the menu in his hand. The man had beady eyes framed by bushy, long eyebrows; perched on the very tip of his beak-like nose was a pair of glasses. He wore a brown hounds-tooth suit that looked tattered and worn. The man's eyes kept wandering back over to Link, and eventually he stood up and walked over to him.

"How's it going, man?"

The man didn't answer, but kept staring at his menu.

"I saw you looking over at me…," Link started, but the man cleared his throat in interruption.

He looked quickly around, and whispered, "Not here, Link."

Startled, Link stared down at the strange man questioningly. The man nodded his head towards the back room of the bar and hopped off his seat, waddling towards the door. After a few seconds, Link hesitantly followed the man.

As soon as he opened the back door, the little man dragged him in by his shirt and pulled his face close.

"Listen, Link. I'm here to help you get a jump start on your investigation. I know Princess Zelda has gone missing."

Link pulled back, stunned. "We didn't release that to any of the papers," he said.

The little man nodded his head, "I know. But here have been rumors spreading around the slums of Hyrule City. I figured if they were true, then you would need my help."

Link thought for a few seconds and narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was in Termina when they announced their surrender to G.A.N.O.N. I spoke to the mayor afterwards and he said his memory was fuzzy and didn't recall ever surrendering!" he said frantically. "Go to Termina; you'll find your answers there."

He let go and made a dash for the door. Before it closed behind him, he said, "If you need any help, Kaepora Gaebora is my name!"

* * *

As soon as Link got back to the castle, he made a call from Zelda's private line. The phone rang a few times, and then a sleepy voice answered.

"Mayor Dotour's office, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak with the mayor."

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked, boredom seeping into her voice.

"No, but this is-."

"Mayor Dotour isn't taking any calls at this time. Please try later."

A click signaled that the receptionist had hung up on him. Irritated, he slammed the phone onto the cradle and stalked out of the room. As he exited, he passed by Impah heading into Zelda's office.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm taking a trip to Termina," he growled in response.

She stopped in her tracks and whirled around. "Now?" she asked, incredulous.

"I got a lead about Zelda. With any luck, I'll be back by tomorrow night."

* * *

It was nightfall before Link rolled into Termina on the back of Epona. He left it parked in the rear of the Stock Pot Inn and walked over to the Mayor's residence. At this time of night, he knew he would be asleep, so he left a note in his mailbox that he would be in to see him in the morning. Having accomplished his task, Link headed over to the Milk Bar.

After years of debt, the owner, Mr. Barten, had no choice but to open the Milk Bar to the public. No longer the exclusive bar it once was, it now was a crash pad for the scum of Termina.

As Link pushed the door open, a cloud of stale cigarette smoke smacked him in the face and he gagged. He let a rowdy bunch of Zora go ahead of him before he braved another attempt at walking inside. Walking down the steps, he took a look around.

At the far end of the bar, Link saw a familiar face and made a beeline towards him. He clapped the man on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Hey, pal," he said cheerfully.

As the man turned his head to see who it was, his eyes widened and a terrified yelp escaped his lips. He tried to run away, but Link had a firm grip on his shirt and pulled him back onto the stool.

"How's it going Sakon? Doin' anything illegal these days?"

Sakon scoffed. "What's it to ya? Not like you can do anything."

"Wanna bet?" Link threatened, shaking him.

He let out another squeal and wiped the sweat from his bald head. "What do ya want from me, man? I'm clean now, I swear."

"So you didn't happen to see any strangers around to prey on lately? Nobody new to pick-pocket?" Link asked.

"Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't," Sakon replied, a devilish grin spreading across his lips. He picked up his glass and said, "I'm running out of Chateau Romani. Maybe you can help me out?"

In response, Link grabbed his pistol from its holster and pressed it into to Sakon's back.

"Don't waste my time, Sakon. Tell me now!"

He could feel the man beginning to tremble.

"Okay, okay. A guy came around here about a month ago asking for some help getting into Mayor Dotour's office. Naturally, he came to me, seeing as how I dabble in the sketchy arts of thievery," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Give me a name."

"I don't know, I don't remember," he said, but a small poke in the back made him squeal, "I think it was something like…Obsidian."

"Onox?"

"Yeah, yeah, Onox. That's the guy."

Link holstered his weapon and patted him on the shoulder.

"Was that so hard?" Link asked, and signaled to the bar tender. "Fill him up." He put a few rupees on the table and left the trembling Sakon to his drink.


	5. Part V

_Hey all! Just wanted to once again thank everyone for reading my story, and for giving me some much appreciated critiquing. I keep changing the amount of "parts" I'm making this story, so until further notice, it is undecided. Enjoy Part V! -Steph_

Part V

The next morning, Link walked out of the Stock Pot Inn and headed over to the Mayor's office. He arrived as soon as the receptionist opened up the door, and was ushered immediately into Madame Aroma's office.

"I requested an audience with Mayor Dotour, not Madame Aroma," Link said, turning to go back towards the Mayor's office. The receptionist blocked the door with her arm and turned him back around.

"Madame Aroma wants to speak with you first."

She slammed the door in Link's perplexed face, and he saw no other choice but to take a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the middle of the room. After a few moments of looking around the extremely pink room, a side door opened. A larger woman walked in; she had pink-tinged hair and wore a yellow dress. She shuffled over to him and held out her hand; he shook it politely.

"Thank you for seeing me, Link," she said, taking a seat across from him in a chair similar to his.

"Is there something I can help you with, Madame? I have some important matters to discuss with the Mayor," he said, sitting back in the chair.

"That's why I called you in here," she said. "The Mayor doesn't wish to discuss the events leading to his surrender to G.A.N.O.N. But I think there are some things that you need to know, so I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can."

Link nodded and began questioning her.

"What events led up to the surrender?"

She took a moment to think, and said, "About a week before the announcement, Dotour disappeared for a few days. I figured that he had just gone out to the Milk Bar, but when he didn't return in the morning, I began to worry."

"I asked the Bombers to help me find him, but after a day of searching, he appeared out of nowhere," she continued, fidgeting with her dress. "He was acting funny. I thought he was sick, but he said that he was fine."

"What do you mean 'sick'?" Link asked.

"Well, his eyes changed colors. They used to be blue, but when he returned, they were a gold color. He wouldn't tell me where he had been; he said he had forgotten, but it didn't seem like he was telling the truth."

Link rubbed his eyes in frustration. None of this was making sense to him.

"What about after the announcement. Any change then?"

She nodded her head. "Later that night, his eyes returned to their blue color, and he said that he couldn't recall anything about the last week. He seemed genuinely shocked when I told him he had surrendered to the Alliance."

Just then, Link's phone began to ring. He stood up quickly.

"Excuse me," he apologized. He walked to the corner of the room and flipped open his phone.

"Yeah?"

"Zelda just made contact with us. She's safe."

He let out a heavy sigh and asked, "Where is she?"

"She said she's making her way back to the Castle, and she'll be here soon."

"Alright, I'm leaving here now. I'll be back in a few hours, I need to make one more stop before I head back. Start debriefing Zelda and see if she can tell us anything."

He flipped the phone shut and walked back over to Madame Aroma.

"Thank you for your time, Madame," he said, shaking her hand.

"I hope it helped," she replied, "Have a safe drive back to Hyrule."

* * *

Link pulled up into the long, stone driveway and stopped in front of a small house on stilts. The air was thick with the smell of a nearby swamp, and he quickly made his way up the ladder to the door. He pushed it open and walked inside.

The room was lined with shelves of blue, red, and green pots from top to bottom. In the back was a desk and behind it sat a stopped old woman wearing a red dress.

"Welcome to the Potion Shop. How may I…," began the woman, but as she looked up, said, "Link! What a surprise!"

"Hey Koume," he said, walking up to her.

"Kotake! Link's here!" Koume yelled into the back room.

"I know it stinks in here," came the reply. Kotake walked out of the back room with a steaming pot in her hand; the only difference between her and Koume was that she wore a blue dress. She looked at Link in surprise and turned to her sister. "Link's here? Why didn't you say so?"

Koume rolled her eyes.

"How can we help you today?" she asked.

Link pulled a small packet out of his leather jacket and set it on the counter.

"A little present in exchange for some information," he said, opening it up. It contained a few blue mushrooms, and the sister's eyes lit up.

"Anything you need," Koume said, pulling the packet towards her.

"Is there a type of potion that could turn your eyes a different color and make you lose your memory?" he asked.

"A potion?" Koume asked, scratching her head.

"That could change your eye color and make you lose your memory?" Kotake asked.

"Doesn't sound like a potion…".

"But maybe it could be….".

"Yes, that's what I was thinking."

The two sisters turned to Link. He stood there, confused.

"What could it be?" he asked.

"Possession," they answered simultaneously.

"When you're possessed, your eyes end up changing to whatever color eyes the person or thing that's possessing you has," Kotake explained. "And after the possession is over, you don't remember what happened before or during the possession."

"What happens to you when you're being possessed?"

"You're soul is still there, and you're aware of everything that's going on. But usually the person who is possessing you has a greater amount of magical power than you do, so you can't fight back," Koume replied. "In some instances, the possessor can be overthrown by the person being possessed, but they'd need to be extremely powerful."

Link drummed his fingers against the table. _This is bad_, he thought.

"Thanks, ladies," he said, turning towards the door.

"Anytime!" they chimed in unison.

As he walked back to Epona, he pulled out his phone to make a quick call. The battery level was too low, and he shoved it back into his pocket, irritated. Kicking his bike to a start, he sped off down the road back towards Hyrule.

* * *

Impah paced in the driveway court of the Castle, her mind racing as she waited for Zelda's return. She had been waiting for about an hour when a black limousine pulled through the gates and drove up beside her. She opened the door and helped Zelda step out.

"Princess," she said, bowing to her. "It's good to have you home safe."

As she looked into the limo, Onox's head appeared and he stepped out after Zelda.

"You?" Impah shouted, pulling her pistol from her side and shoving it into his face. "Give me a good reason not to pull the trigger."

Zelda put her hand up cautiously and lowered Impah's pistol.

"He's the reason I escaped," she said. "He rescued me."

"Princess, he's the one that kidnapped you. We have it on tape," Impah snapped, her gaze still fixed on Onox.

Zelda shook her head. "The tape must have been tampered with."

Impah looked over at Zelda and gasped.

"What happened to your eyes?" she asked, holstering her weapon and taking Zelda's face in her hands.

Zelda looked quickly over at Onox, who stepped forward immediately.

"Her captors tried to poison her. It may be a side effect," he explained.

Impah noticed the quick exchange of questioning looks between the two, but ignored it for the moment.

"Do you know who kidnapped you?" she asked.

Zelda nodded her head slowly.

"We've been betrayed, Impah. The whole Council was blind to his schemes," she said sadly, a small tear forming in her eye.

"Who's schemes?"

"Link's."

Shocked, Impah reeled backwards. "It can't be."

Onox nodded, asking, "He was the one that pointed out the tape with me on it, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but he's been protecting the Royal Family for years. How could we have missed this?"

"I don't know. But we need to arrest him immediately," Zelda said.

"He left for Termina yesterday," Impah said, "He should be back here in an hour or so."

"Then go and get the guards ready to detain him when he arrives," Onox said.

Impah, still in shock, gave a small bow and turned to run back into the castle.

Zelda wiped the tear from her face and smiled. "Well played Onox." She took a step forward to follow Impah into the castle, but stumbled. Onox barely caught her before she hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her to his side.

She steadied herself quickly. "Yeah. She's putting up quite a fight."

Nonchalantly, she brushed a hair back into place and together, they walked into the castle.

* * *

A few hours later, Link pulled up into the castle driveway and parked in the small garage reserved for him and his agents. As he walked inside through a side door, he noticed that the hallways sat completely quiet. He pressed on through the halls towards Zelda's study, figuring that's where Impah would be questioning her.

Suddenly, her office doors opened and a group of Link's agents stepped out quickly, surrounding him. They're weapons were drawn and were pointed directly at Link, who was both unarmed and alarmed.

"What the hell is going on?" Link asked, his hands up in the air.

One of the agents behind him grabbed his wrists and pulled them down, cuffing them together. Another agent stepped forward and removed Link's pistol from its holster.

"I'm sorry, sir," he whispered.

As he stepped back into place, Onox walked out from the study. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and held it into the air. Link knew exactly what it was: an arrest warrant.

"You're under arrest for treason and the kidnapping of Princess Zelda."


	6. Part VI

Part VI

Onox's guards led Link down multiple flights of spiral stairs, and the farther down they went, the colder it grew. Before they pulled him away, Onox had told them to take him down to the dungeons of the Old Castle. Nobody had been taken down there in at least two hundred years, and he wasn't even sure if they were cleared out.

Near the bottom, several of the ceiling blocks had crashed onto the steps below, cracking the foundation severely. The guards pushed Link over them and down into the dungeon. Several of the cell doors were hanging open on rusted hinges while others were completely broken off. Rats skittered across the floor before them, and Link made a small groan. The guard shoved him in the last cell and slammed the door shut.

"Enjoy your stay."

Link slammed his boot into the side of the cell door angrily as they walked away, laughing. The last beam of light disappeared as the guards shut the door at the top of the staircase, leaving him in total darkness.

"Zelda!" he screamed into the cold, empty room.

The only response was the lonely echo of his cry.

* * *

Impah sat in Zelda's study, her fingers tapping on the arm of the chair. She had been sitting there for almost an hour, waiting for Zelda to meet with her. It was unlike the Princess to keep her waiting. Impah brushed it off; Zelda had had a rough past few days.

Finally, the door swung open. Zelda sauntered in with Onox at her tail, following her like a pet dog. Impah looked at the pair in surprise; she knew Zelda had never trusted Onox, and that he had always gone behind her back. Now, he looked at her like Darling looked at Honey.

Impah regained composure and stood at attention.

"Princess, I've been waiting-" she began, but Zelda quickly put up her hand to stop her.

"Princesses are meant to be waited on," she said, not even glancing over at Impah, "I wouldn't complain if I were you."

Impah's jaw dropped as Zelda spoke. She had never once taken a tone with her. After choosing her words carefully, Impah said, "I was not complaining, Princess, only observing."

"Well, Impah, observe the fact that I'm much too busy to speak with you at the moment. I need to see to other matters."

"What about Link?" she asked.

Zelda's head quickly jerked up, and the cold, golden eyes that now replaced her soft sapphire ones glared down at her.

"He's rotting away underneath the castle, where he belongs."

She turned on her heel and walked briskly out the door, Onox on her heels the whole time.

Impah shuddered. That was not the Princess she had once known. Something was terribly wrong.

* * *

"Zelda," Link croaked out.

He had shouted for hours, trying to get someone's attention, but nobody had come to his rescue. Finally, his throat cracked and swollen, he fell heavily to the ground. There was no way he'd be able to get out of this mess.

A small beam of light fell from the stairwell as the door creaked open slowly. He heard light footsteps coming down the stairs and watched as a familiar silhouette blocked the light.

"Hello, Link," Zelda said, her voice piercing the stalking silence of the dungeon.

"Zelda, thank the Goddesses you're here," he said, relief filling his voice, "I thought I was going to end up dying down here."

"That's because you will."

She continued to walk towards him, her gait slow and terrifying. The smile that had been forming across Link's face quickly fell.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "I've done nothing wrong."

"So you say. But I know the truth. You just wanted my kingdom to yourself," she said, stopping to stand in the shadows directly in front of his cell.

Incredulous, Link grasped the bars around his face.

"I've done nothing but protect your kingdom," he sputtered.

"So you could take it over for yourself."

"Zelda, you know that's not true. You're my only family, I could never do that to you," he said, choking back tears. "Whoever is telling you that I'm trying to overthrow you, they're lying. Please, you have to believe me."

"Oh I do," Zelda whispered, leaning forward into the beam of light from the stairwell. "But they never will."

Link gasped as he saw that Zelda's eyes were no longer blue, but rather gold.

"No," he breathed, leaning closer to the bars.

A smile spread across Zelda's lips and she scoffed.

"Try not to die too quickly," she laughed, and stepped away. She began her ascent back up the stairwell as Link started screaming.

"Zelda! I know you're in there! You need to overpower her! Zelda!" he screamed, but the last echoed throughout the dungeon, as the door slammed shut behind her.

* * *

_Link._

"Great," Link said to himself, "the voices are starting already."

He was sitting up against the wall, staring into the nothingness of the dark.

_Link. _

"What?" he asked, irritated.

_It's me._

He started up, looking around. "Me who? Where are you?"

_In your head._

"No kidding."

_Link, you need to get your head on straight. I need you._

"Why? Haven't you heard I'm Hyrule's biggest traitor?"

A moment of silence filled the room.

_Something's terribly wrong._

"You can say that again. I'm talking to the voices in my head."

_Link, pay attention. What did you find out in Termina?_

"Why does it even matter?"

_Stop being difficult. Just go through your visit to Termina._

"Well, I drank with Sakon. I talked with Madame Aroma, and I stopped in on Koume and Kotake."

_Koume and Kotake? Why them?_

"Because I wanted to find out why the Mayor's eyes changed colors."

_And?_

"I guess he was possessed."

Silence again filled his head, and he wondered if the voices had finally disappeared.

_Link, listen to me. It is imperative that you not mention this conversation with anybody. Do you understand me? Don't tell anybody._

"Oh don't worry. I'm almost positive they'll think I'm crazy…which I'm pretty sure I am."

Silence filled the room once again, and the voices didn't return. Link was once again alone.


End file.
